Fact file

Qualification

MA Education (flexible)

Duration

2 years part-time plus dissertation

Entry requirements

2:2 (or international equivalent)

Other requirements

Applicants should have one year of full-time work or volunteer experience in an educational setting; a teaching qualification that includes a substantial placement-based component (eg. PGCE) will be considered acceptable experience

Overview

This flexible, online-based course reflects the needs of individuals and organisations, and will deepen and refine your capacity to reflect critically on the way you work.

Read full overview

Teaching on this course is underpinned by systematic practitioner inquiry and you will be encouraged to identify issues that are significant to your professional practice.

While each module has its own particular focus, all are concerned with investigating contemporary educational issues in the light of historical, political and social contexts, appropriate literature and the shared experience of course members.

Study is flexible, in order to meet the needs of individuals and organisations, and includes:

a range of optional modules so you can tailor your degree to your personal and professional interests

different modes of delivery which take account of individual needs and professional contexts

Course details

The taught element of this course is made up of 120 credits, plus a 60-credit dissertation. It can be completed part-time over approximately two years, with a further eight months for the dissertation. You can choose to start in either September or February, and there are PGDip and PGCert exit points.

You will need to commit 10-15 hours per week, all year round. You will work collaboratively, for example, by contributing to online discussions within a specified time frame.

Assessment

Each 30-credit module is assessed by a 6,000-word written assignment. To complete the masters, you must achieve a pass of 50 on each assignment.

The 15,000-word dissertation is an original piece of work and should be related to one of the selected modules on an approved topic.

Online course materials and support

Our online materials provide an interactive learning experience and allow you to study at your own pace. You will be encouraged to interact with other course participants, and each module will involve group activities such as using blogs, wikis and discussion boards.

To ensure you have the appropriate computer requirements to enable you to study online, please view our computer specification guidance notes. Please note, if you are based in China, you may encounter restrictions on software used in some of our online modules. Please contact us to discuss this further.

Applying

To ensure your application is considered in time, please note the following dates:

Nottingham PGCE graduates

University of Nottingham PGCE graduates who started their course between September 2010 and September 2013, will have received an automatic offer for this course and do not need to submit a new application. If you would like to accept your offer, please contact our admissions office with details of when you would like to start. The automatic offer is valid for five years so you will need to apply again if this time has passed.

PGCEi graduates will not have received an automatic offer so will need to submit a new application (alumni do not have to pay the application fee).

Recognition of Other Learning (ROL)

If you have prior learning or experience at an appropriate level, you may apply for exemption from some of the credit requirements of the course.

Modules

Core

Practice-Based Inquiry

The content will involve you in active critical consideration of participating in and leadership of practitioner inquiry in relation to professional context mapping and workplace learning.

examining a range of approaches to educational inquiry, with an emphasis on action research

developing an inquiry into your professional context

This module is normally studied just before the dissertation, however, you need to take this module at a time when you have access to an appropriate professional context.

Dissertation

This involves the researching and writing of a substantive piece of scholarship within the field of the course.

You will choose a topic in consultation with your course leader and an appropriate supervisor. The topic will normally be based on interests and skills you have developed in the course of the modules already studied.

Optional

Up to three from:

Leading Learning

The module will address the essential features of effective learning, as relevant to your sector by examining:

the process of learning

supporting learning (for example, through adults, peers and technology) both within and beyond the educational organisation

an overview of approaches to improvement and raising achievement in educational organisations

monitoring and evaluation of learning: the use of data, target-setting, monitoring

Researching Special and Inclusive Education

This module considers:

research purposes and paradigms

epistemological influences on research design and practice

the reflective research practitioner

participatory approaches to research

criticality in reading, writing and reviewing the literature

advantages and disadvantages of different methodological approaches to researching special and inclusive education

planning and designing research projects

ethical codes of practice and their importance in researching special and inclusive education

applying research skills

Relationships and Behaviour

This module considers:

experiential learning and its relationship to reflective practice and reflexivity: exploration via a learning journal genre

typical and atypical development of literacy/learning including specific learning difficulties/dyslexia

communication and literacy/learning assessments and interventions

understanding autism and Autistic Spectrum Disorder

communication and literacy/learning for children with learning disabilities including autism, Down's syndrome and dyslexia

effective teaching and learning environments

Learning Through an Additional Language (EAL/CLIL)

This module considers the theories underpinning effective practice in teaching content subjects and themes through an additional language (English or another language) and how these impact on practice.

Different teaching practices and instructional materials are considered, from early years, primary, secondary and tertiary, with a focus on language, content and culture. Case studies of different teaching contexts are examined. Research fields which feature in the module include input/output theories from second language acquisition, theories of scaffolding, cognitive learning theory and communicative theory.

The intention throughout is to identify effective practice and rationalise it from these theories.

analysis of self in relation to national standards (for school leadership or as appropriate)

self-development plans

understanding the professional development of others in the team

understanding the organisation and its context

leading and managing change

communication

Changing Classrooms: Policy, Research and Practice

This module critically examines contemporary debates surrounding orthodoxies in curriculum, learning and assessment in schools, and how these relate to policy and practice.

In particular it considers the way different orthodoxies frame what children and young people learn in schools, how they learn and how assessment practices inform learning processes. The module will explore these orthodoxies in terms of their origins and purposes and it will consider alternative models from an international perspective.

The module starts by considering the history, politics and ideology of the curriculum as it currently exists. It then develops understanding through application of psychological, social and cultural theories of learning and assessment. These theorised views of schooling and classroom practices enable us to analyse and critique the wide-ranging policy and research discussions about curriculum, learning and assessment that are currently under way.

You will be engaged in considering how developments of, and alternatives to, current practices will impact learning and teaching in the future.

Debating Special and Inclusive Education

This module will explore key issues concerning the field of special and inclusive education:

Definitions of special needs and inclusion

Global perspectives on diversity and access to equality of educational opportunities

Understanding theoretical approaches to special needs/inclusion and models of disability

Understanding prevalence of need and issues concerning classification and assessment

Exploring the impact of policy on practice and equality of opportunity

Examining the evidence on effectiveness of different types of educational settings eg mainstream, resource base and special provision

Pedagogy and creativity

Balancing equity and choice through collaborative and ethical problem solving

The Social Contexts of Education Technology

This module provides an introduction to the interpersonal and societal contexts within which educational innovation with learning technology occurs.

In particular it positions you to understand the institutional dimension of creating and sustaining learning technology innovation. It addresses theories of effective interpersonal learning interactions and the relevance of learning technology to their mediation.

New Directions in Learning, Technology and Education

This module will cover:

a review of current innovation in learning technology for learning and teaching

Other ways to study

You may be able to take one face-to-face module via summer school. Teaching takes place over two weeks, starting in the last week of July; offering you the opportunity to study in an intensive teaching block with academic support available during the subsequent period of self-guided study.

Timetable

The modules we offer are inspired by the research interests of our staff and as a result may change for reasons of, for example, research developments or legislation changes. This list is an example of typical modules we offer, not a definitive list.

Funding

The Government offers postgraduate student loans for students studying a taught or research masters course. Applicants must ordinarily live in England or the EU. Student loans are also available for students from Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland.

International and EU students

Masters scholarships are available for international students from a wide variety of countries and areas of study. You must already have an offer to study at Nottingham to apply. Please note closing dates to ensure your course application is submitted in good time.

Careers

Career destinations for our graduates include counsellors, education advisers, language tutors, primary/secondary teachers and vocational/industrial trainers and instructors. A number of our graduates are already in employment while undertaking part-time study for professional development in their chosen career.

Employability and average starting salary

99.2% of postgraduates from the School of Education who were available for employment secured work or further study within six months of graduation. £22,797 was the average starting salary, with the highest being £44,000.*

* Known destinations of full-time home postgraduates 2015/16. Salaries are calculated based on the median of those in full-time paid employment within the UK.

Career and professional development

Whether you are looking to enhance your career prospects or develop your knowledge, a postgraduate degree from the University of Nottingham can help take you where you want to be.

DisclaimerThis online prospectus has been drafted in advance of the academic year to which it applies. Every effort has been made to ensure that the information is accurate at the time of publishing, but changes (for example to course content) are likely to occur given the interval between publishing and commencement of the course. It is therefore very important to check this website for any updates before you apply for the course where there has been an interval between you reading this website and applying.